Discharge device for fluid containers



' Jan. 10; 1939.

'i-l. M. SALMOND E L DISCHARGE J JEVICE FOR FLUID CONTAINERS 1 Filed A ril 12, 1937 5 S eets-sheet '1 NM R Q mm mm Jan. 10, 1939. .H M SALMOND ET AL DISCHARGE DEVICE FOR FLUID CONTAINERS FiledApril 12, 1937 3 sheets-sheet 2 1 arm/me) Jam 10, 1939. M. SALMOND ET AL DISCHARGE DEVICE FOR FLUID CONTAINERS Filed April 12; 1957 s sheets-sheet s UTE- -6 EEK):

s r e v I ll Patent ed Jan.10,1939

1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISCHARGE DEVICE FOR FLUID GONTAINERS Application April 12, 1937, Serial No. 136,514 In Great Britain April 23, 1936 This invention relates to stoppering and discharge devices for fluid containers such as for chemical fire extinguishing liquids.

Methyl bromide is one of the most efiectlve fire 5 extinguishing mediums known to science and its use for this purpose has been proposed for air and water craft as well as for vehicles.

Dimculties in enclosing the same are, however, experienced in that the liquid is liable to form in hydroln'omic acids which virulently attack most metals, but copper and high copper content alloys have been found suitable for methyl bromide containers. The known means for stoppering and efiecting l5 discharge from methylbromlde extinguishers comprise a copper seal soldered to the copper container, a seal piercing plunger or tool being provided for effecting discharge. In another known construction a copper tube extends from the copper container and this can be fractured at a cut or recessed point by the fingers to efiect discharge from the tube.

it is the object of the present invention to provide a tenacious-material stoppering device at for methyl bromide containers which shall be integral and mechanically robust and capable of fracture by force applying means to efiect discharge oi the container contents which is under gas pressure. I as Another object or the invention is to provide a discharge device of tenacious material for fluid containers which device is in the form of a plug in one end of which a recess is produced, the other end being machined to form a stem concentric with said recess and connected thereto by thin rim of material integral with the recessed portion of the device and the rim.

A further object of the invention is to provide screw threads upon the recessed portion upon the go above described device whereby it may be her-- metrically secured to a. copper container. The stem may also be screw-threaded and provided with a nut. A sleeve surrounding said stem and nut is produced integrally with the device or at secured thereto so that explosive substance may be confined below the nut and upon the said rim within the sleeve, which substance when ignited by an electric fuse serves to sever the nut and stem from the device at the rim to permit discharge of the contents of the container which is under gas pressure.

it. still further object of the invention is to provide resilient means secured in a junction box device for engagement by said sleeve, and pipes extendingirom said junction box to the engine compartment of an airplane or to other fire dan- Moreover when liquid methyl bromide is mixed 1m with gasoline in the ratio of one volumeto 8 volumes the resultant mixture is'incapable of supporting combustion due to a powerful inhibiting action by the methyl bromide.

To utilize the peculiar properties of methyl 2o bromide it is an additional object of the invention to provide fluid distributing piping in which longitudinally and angularly spaced orifices are produced for squirting fluid upon a fire'danger source as well as upon its surrounding housing 25 or enclosure walls, orifices of enlarged areas being produced upon the pipes facing special fire danger points upon the surface.

Still another object of the invention is to provide, a stoppering and discharge device in the ill) form of a sealing plug for a liquid container, said plug being provided with a recess in one end and a concentric stem at the other end connected to the recessed portion by a thin integral rim, me-

chanical means being providedfor fracturing said 35 stem when the container is withdrawn from a mounting bracket.

Other objects will appear from the following description with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows in elevation an assembled view of 49 a fire extinguisher embodying our invention, the terminal portion of the containing tank and the plug and. discharge device being shown in section;

Fig. 2 shows a side view of an airplane engine structure to which is applied fire extinguishing liquid discharge piping from our fire extinguisher.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale oi the stoppering or discharge member shown in 50 Fig. 1, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation on a larger scale of the stoppering or discharge member of Fig." 1 showing the locking nut.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the structure of. Fig. 2. M

Fig. 6 is a side elevation on a large scale of the locking nut.

Fig. 7 is a diametral sectional view on an enlarged scale of the locking nut taken through two opposite slots. v V

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the locking nut in threadedly engaging position on the frangible stem, taken through a diameter intermediate adjacent slots of the nut.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale notes a stoppering device for the container machined from solid copper alloy material and secured to container 2 by a screwed joint denoted 4 soldered externally at the joint at da. Device 3 is provided with a tapered recess internally therein as shown at 5 and a further or continuatio'n recess or discharge conduit denoted 6 is bored in the bottom of recess 5. Device 3 is machined to form a-sleeve i which is bored out externally so as to leave a central stem 8 integral with device 3 at a narrow rim of metal 9. As will be seen from the drawings, recess t is of greater diameter than stem 8 as the result of which the material of rim 9 is capable of being severed in shear when tensionis applied to stem 8. Stem 8 is threaded and a nut M is adapted to be screwed thereon as shown in the drawings. At the bottom of the bored-out sleeve 7 a groove is formed as a result of the above described construction in which explosive substance ii is confined by nut i ll, rim 9 and sleeve 1. An electrically energized fuse device I2 is secured by gland l3 in device 3 and is connected to an electric current supply through plug devices M secured in insulation block l5. By igniting substance ll, stem 8 and nut ID are severed at rim a thereby producing a clean orifice in device 3 of substantial size through which the contents of the container are rapidly discharged under gas pressure. Due to the fact that the material in rim 9 is severed in shear the force required to operate the device is comparatively small.

Device 3 is bored and tapped to take a liquid or fluid discharging plug denoted l6. Plug it is provided with a faced surface i'l forcing ductile metal ring l8 onto a faced surface is produced in device 3. Plug i6 is recessed internally at 20 in a similar manner to device 3. Recess 20 is fitted with a jet device 2| faced at the discharge end and screwed into the recess. Externally the plug is machined to form a frangible pip or stem 22 corresponding to stem 8 of device 3 and integral by a narrow rim of metal 23 with plug l6. It is an important feature of this construction that the liquid discharge plug is normally closed by pip 22 concentric with the drilled hole 20. When pip 22 is fractured at 23 a stream of liquid is squirted from the faced discharge end of jet 2| which ensures a concentrated jet of liquid capable'bf being thrown a considerable distance with great force.

Container 2 is mounted in a. bracket device 24 adapted to be secured to any suitable part in an aircraft and clamping device 24:; serves to clamp container 2 to the bracket. A junction box devicedenoted 25 is secured to bracket 24 by screws or the like and is provided with a resilient washer means able by connecting plugs it in series with an electric battery 60 by a hand operated push button switch Bl operated by the pilot of an aircraft, for example, or by an inertia operated switch 62 actuated in a crash of the aircraft, or alternatively by a flame actuated switch 63 which operates if the aircraft should catch fire .Hand operation of the fire extinguisher by fracturing pip 22 is possible by means of the following mechanism. A form of guide channel M is secured to bracket 24 and is provided with inclined guide slots 32 in which a pin 33 is slidably mounted. Pivoted upon pin 33 is a further guide channel 34 which is provided with a hole 35 adapted to engage pip 22 as shown in the drawings. A spring 36 normally tends to force channel til upwardly into a position inclined from the horizontal at about 30 degrees.

The bracket 24 is secured in any desired position in the aircraft but preferably within reach of the pilot or other personnel and when container 2 is to be mounted in the bracket the tubular part of device 3 is guided into washer 26 while pip 22 is guided into channel 34 thereby depressing this against the action of spring 36. When container 2 finally is fully in position in bracket 26, hole 35 snaps onto pip 22 and to assist engagement an abutment 3'! may be fitted in the channel as shown. I

Should a fire break out in the cockpit or personnel compartment, upon an aircraft the pilot or operator passes the four fingers of the hand through handle 38 of container 2 thus automatically releasing clamping device 2 811. By pulling on handle 38 the container is withdrawn from bracket 21, pip 22 being automatically fractured by channel 3% which slides with pin 33 in guides 32 until the pip snaps off, after which -liquid is discharged from the\container without further effort on the part of the operator who then plays the jet of liquid upon the seat of the fire The application 0! the automatically and manually operable fire extinguisher of Figure 1 upon an aircraft engine is shown in Figures 2 and 5. Container 2 with electric terminals I4 is mounted with junction box 25 in bracket 24 which is secured by suitable means mounted upon the engine structure 6] as indicated in Figure 2. Pipes 30 are disposed with respect to the engine struc-- ure 10.

The holes are of the order of inch diameter and are spaced in opposed pairs along the pipes as shown in Figure 9. They are spaced longi tudinally by about three inches between adjacent pairs of holes whereby about 8 holes per foot of pipe is provided. The pipes are generally of the order of 3 to 4 feet long and the total number of holes must thus slightly exceed a hundred which provides adequate distribution to cover, the engine surface as well as the internal cowling surface upon which fuel and oil or other combustible substance may collect or be sprayed.

The pipes 30! are usuallydrilled with the hole arrangement shown in Figure 9 in the factory, and are then mounted uponthe engine somewhat as shown in Figures 2 and 5,being secured there-- to by suitable clips of known construction and not shown.

After mounting, orifices defacing fire danger spots-upon the engine such as exhaust manifold or pipes 65 are enlarged as shown at M so that the amount of methyl bromide squirted thereon is greater than that sprayed upon other surface.

parts.

In a similar manner orifices facing cavities in the engine structure in which fuel or oil may collect are enlarged to ensure adequate drench ing with methyl bromide.

Another fire danger source is the carburettor or fuel intake system generally disposed at the rear upon modern engines as shown at 62 in Figure 2. Overflow or loss of fuel, breakage of fuel pipes or the like, leads to flooding of the cowling near the fuel intakaand toensure extinction of fire, pipes to are disposed as shown in Figure 2 so as to cover the cowling as well as the fire proof bulkhead shown at 63 with an adequate number of methyl bromide streams.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters lF atent is? i. A discharge device for iiuid containers comprising a tenacious-material plug provided with a circular recess in one end of said plug, a circular stem concentric with said recess in the other end of the plug, a thin integral material rim. joining the recessed portion and the stem, said stem being provided with screw threads,

= said device having an annular recess surrounding said stem, a nut screwed on the stem, a sleeve, integral with said device and extending from the wall of said annular recess, and explosive substance confined by said nut, said stem, rim of material and said well of said annular recess.

2. A discharge device for fluid containers comprising a tenacious-material plug, a circular recess in one end 'of said plug, a circular stem concentric with said recess in the other end of the plug, a thin integral material rim joining the recessed portion and thestem, said device having an annular recess surrounding said stem,

said stem beingprovided with screw threads, a nut screwed on the stem, a sleeve extending from said device and substantially continuous with the walls of said annular recess and connningly surrounding said nut, explosive substance confined by said nut, said stern, said rim of material and said wall of said annular recess, an electrically energized fuse for igniting saidtsubstance, an electric battery, a plurality of electric switches connected for selectively energizing the fuse from the battery to cause operation of the discharge device.

3. A discharge device for fluid containers comprising a tenacious-materialplug, provided with a circular recess in one end of said plug, a circular. stem concentric with said recess inthe other end of the plug, a thin integral material rim joining the recessed portion and the stern, said device having an annular recess surrounding said stem, said recessed portion being provided with screw threads, a nut secured upon said stem, a sleeve extending from the wall of said annular recess and surrounding said nut and stem, explosive substance confined by said nut, said stem, said rim of material and said wall of said annular recess, a junction box member and conduits leading from said device to fire danger points, said junction box member being attached to said device and forming therewith a closed chamber, and a flexible gasket engaged between said device and said junction box member and fitting over said sleeve.

4. A discharge member for fluid containers having a substantially annular portion at one end thereof forming a first recess therein, a partition at an intermediate portion of said discharge member transverse thereof and closing the inner end of said first recess, said discharge member having a second recess formed therein on the side of said partition opposite said first recess, a threaded. stem projecting from said partition from the bottom of said second recess in the direction opposite said first recessed end of said discharge member, a nut adapted to engage said threaded stern, and a sleeve projecting from said discharge member adjacent said second recess and substantially continuous with the wall of said second recess and surrounding said stem, the said annular portion, said partition, said stern and said sleeve being iormdd integrally, said stem being integral with said partition only by a narrow rim, the wall of said second recess in said member and said. stern forming a substantially annular recess in register with said nut and adapted to receive an annular explosive element. 5. In a discharge plug member for fluid con tainers having a central passage therein for the w discharge of fluid from a container, a partition positioned transversely of said passage and closing said passage, a threaded stern projecting from said partition into the discharge end of said passage, a nut engaged on said threaded stem, and an annular explosive element surrounding said stem and held thereon between said nut and said partition, said discharge mem ber comprising integral rigid means defining the discharge end of said passage and closely surrounding said nut and closely confining said ex plosive element in its position between said stem, saidpartition, and said nut.

6. In a discharge plug member for fluid containers having a central passage therein for the discharge of fluid from a container, a partition positionedtransversely of said passage and closing said passage, a threaded stem projecting from said partition into the discharge end of said passage, a nut engaged on said threaded stem, and an annular explosive element surrounding said stem and held thereon between said nut and said partition, said discharge member comprising integral rigid means defining the discharge end of said passage and closely surrounding said nut and closely confining said explosive element in its position between said stem, said partition, and said nut, said partition being integral with said discharge member only by a narcharge member transverse thereof and closing the inner end of said first recess, a threaded stem projecting from said partition on the side thereof opposite said first recessed end of said discharge member, a nut engaged on said threaded stem, an annular explosive element surrounding said stem and held thereon between said nut and said partition, and rigid means formed integrally with said discharge member adjacent said partition and closely surrounding said nut and closely confining said explosive element in its position between said stem, said partition and said nut.

8. In a discharge member for fluid containers having a substantially annular portion at one end thereof forming a first recess therein, a partition at an intermediate portion of said discharge member transverse thereof and closing the inner end of said first recess, a threaded stem projecting from said partition on the side thereof opposite said first recessed end of said discharge member, a nut engaged on said threaded stem, an annular explosive element surrounding said stein and held thereon between said nut and said partition, and rigid means formed integrally with said discharge member adjacent said partition and closely surrounding said nut and closely confining said explosive element in its position between said stem, said partition n and said nut, said partition being integral with said discharge member only by a narrow marginal rim, and said explosive element being positioned immediately adjacent said rim.

HUBERT MACKENZIE SALMOND. ANDERS MATI-HSEN.

GILBERT P.

HARRY DAVID ERNEST GOODALL. 

